Coin holder for use on automobiles



1952 D. WADE ET AL COIN HOLDER FOR USE ON AUTOMOBILES Filed Aug. 16,1950 Patented Nov. 4, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Doan Wade,Dieterich, and Henry Dahl, Centralia, Ill.

Application August 16, 1950, Serial No. 179,846

2 Claims.

The present invention relates generally to coin holders. Moreparticularly, the invention relates to that type of coin holder whichserves as a medium or instrumentality for releasably holding differentcoins for use in parking meters and comprises a one piece body in theform of a base piece and a plurality of laterally spaced side pieceswhich are connected to and extend upwards from the base piece and haveopposed longitudinally extending grooves forming open top and open sidedslideways for slidably receiving and retaining side by side stacks ofcoins of predetermined denominations in so-called lapped or shingledrelation.

It is now common practice in cities, towns and other municipalities tomount on the curbs of the various main streets and thoroughfares parkingmeters in order to provide revenue from the parking of automobiles nextto the meters. In some instances the parking meters are so constructedand designed that the time indicating pointers will indicate a minuteparking time upon deposit of a penny and an hour parking period upondeposit of a five cent coin. If the time for which the parking metersare set expires before the automobile operators return and redepositcoins, the operators are subject to the payment of fines in the event ofapprehension by police or peace oflicers. However, if the operator of anautomobile while absent overstays his or her parking time and has placedon the automobile in an available position additional coins, the policeor peace oflicer will of his own volition take one of the coins andplace it in the adjacent parking meter so as to reactivate the latterand thus avoid the necessity of the overdue operator paying a fine forparking too long.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a coin holder whichis designed and adapted to be mounted in front of the windshield of anautomobile and serves to hold a small number of coins of differentdenominations, such as pennies and five cent pieces, so that they willbe readily available for parking meter use by an officer in the eventthat the operator of the automobile overstays or exceeds the parkingtime for which the meter was originally set.

Another object of the invention is to provide a coin holder of the typeheretofore mentioned in which the base piece is provided with a thinlongitudinally extending depending tongue which is adapted to beinserted between the lower margin of the automobile windshield and theadjacent portion of the usual resilient windshield mounting strip andserves, when in place, to hold the body as a whole in a readilyaccessible position to the end that the coins that are retained in theslideways may be removed for the purpose of reactivating any parkingmeter adjacent which the automobile is parked.

Another object of the invention is to provide a coin holder of the lastmentioned character in which the depending anchoring or mounting tongueis disposed at such an obtuse angle with respect to the longitudinalygrooved side pieces that when the holder is mounted in its operativeposition by way of the tongue the body extends a small distance forwardsfrom the windshield and hence the coins may be readily gripped inconnection with removal from the slideways between the side members ofthe body.

A further object of the invention is to provide a coin holder of thetype and character under consideration in which the anchoring ormounting tongue embodies a plurality of laterally spaced upwardly andforwardly inclined teeth which are adapted so to embed themselves in theadjacent portion of the resilient windshield mounting strip that theholder as a whole is securely maintained in its operative position and,hence, will not become displaced in connection with violent up and downmovements of the automobile in connection with driving over rough roadsor pavements.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a coin holderwhich is generally of new and improved construction, effectively andefficiently fulfills its intended purpose and is so designed that it maybe produced at a low cost, and also mounted and removed with facility.

Other objects of the invention and the various advantages andcharacteristics of the present coin holder will be apparent from aconsideration of the following detailed description.

The invention consists in several novel features which are hereinafterset forth and are more particularly defined by the claims at theconclusion hereof.

In the drawings which accompany and form a part of the presentdisclosure, and in which like letters and numerals denote correspondingparts throughout the several views:

Figure l is a front perspective of a coin holder embodying theinvention;

Figure 2 is a perspective showing the holder in its operative positionwith respect to the windshield of an automobile;

Figure 3 is an enlarged vertical transverse section taken on the line3-3 of Figure 2 and illustrating in detail the manner in which the teethequipped mounting tongue serves to hold the holder in place;

Figure 4 is a horizontal section taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 3 andshowing the construction and arrangement of longitudinally grooved sidepieces which form between them open top and open sided slideways forreleasably retaining stacks of coins of different denominations; and

Figure 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Figure 3.

The holder which is shown in the drawing constitutes the preferred formor embodiment of the invention. It is illustrated in connection with anautomobile a, and as described more in detail, serves as a medium orinstrumentality for retaining two stacks of coins of differentdenominations" in order that they may be used to activate or energize aparking meter where the automobile is parked. The automobile a has atransparent windshield 20 at the front of its body. The windshield is:rearwardly inclined and is surrounded by a metallic frame 1 which, asshown in Figure 3, is of U-shaped cross-section.

suitable resilient material. Such mounting. strip extends around themarginal portions of the windshield and serves resiliently but firmly toseat said portions within the metallic frame I. The holderxi'spreferably molded of any suitable plastic material, and: consists of abody IE3 and a depending anchoring or mounting tongue I I.

The body I consists of a normally horizontal base piece I2 and threelaterally spaced upstanding side pieces I3, I4 and I5. The lower ends ofthe side pieces are formed integrally with the base piece I2. to the endthat the body I0 as a whole is of unitary character. The side pieceI-3'- is. located at and extends upwards from one end: of the base pieceI2 and has a longitudinally extending inwardly facing groove I6. Theside piece I4 extends upwards from the centrallintermediate portion of.the base piece I2 and has in the sides thereof oppositely facinglongitudinally extending grooves I! and Hi. The third side piece,. thatis, the side piece I5, is located at and extends upwards from the other:end of the. base piece and has an inwardly facing longitudinallyextending groove I9. The groove I8 in" the. side piece I3 and the grooveI! in the side piece. I4 face one another and define between them anopen top and. open sided vertically extending slideway 2G for releasablyretaining in lapped. or shingled relation a stack of coins such, forexample, as five cent pieces. The groove I8 in the side piece M. and thegroove IS in the side piece I5 face one another and define between theman open top and open sided slideway 2| for releasably retaining inlapped or shingled relation a stack of coins such as pennies. The lowerrear portion of the slideway 20 is defined by a web 22 which is formedintegrally with the base piece I2 and the lower end of the side piecesI3 and I4. The front face of this web is upwardly and rearwardlyinclined in order that when the first five cent coin is slid. downwardsto its. fullest extent into the slideway 20 it is caused to' assume atilted position and thus enable the next inserted five cent coin toassume a lapped or shingled position with respect to it as shown inFigure 3. The slideway 20 may be of any desired height. For practicalpurposes it has been found that it is sufficient if such slideway iscapable of retaining but two five cent coins. The coins are successivelyremoved from the slideway 20 by Within the. frame: is a mounting strip sof rubber or other grasping them at their front and back surfaces andthen sliding them upwards. The upper end of the side piece I3 isinclined to a small extent towards the upper end of the side piece I4 inorder that the slideway 20 has a comparatively small restricted entrancewhereby accidental dislodgment of the coins from such slideway isprecluded. The lower end of the slideway 2| for the stack of pennies isdefined by a web 23 which is formed integrally with the base piece I2and the lower ends of the side pieces I4 and I5. The front face of theweb 23 is inclined upwards and rearwards' so that it. effects tilting ofthe first inserted penny in the same manner as the front face of the web22 effects tilting of the first inserted five cent coin in the slideway2B. The upper endof the side piece I5 is inclined to a slight degreetowards the upper end of the side piece I 4 in order to provide acomparatively small restricted entrance for the slideway 2I. Preferably,the height' of the slideway 2t is. such that the slideway'is capable ofholding lapped. or shingled relation but two pennies. If. desired: the.base piece i2: of the body I 0 may be provided with. a pair ofdownwardly extending holes or ducts (not shown) which lead downwards.from bottom. portions of the slideways respectively and. serve to drainany water that may accumulate in the slideways- The tongue II: is formedintegrally and.

depends from the lower' portion. of the: bottom piece E2 of. the bodyIii. It serves to. hold the holder in a fixed position front. of thelower marginal portion of the windshield w of the I automobile a and asclearly shown in Figures 3 and 5 is adapted to.- fit between the frontface. of the lower marginal portion of the windshield and the adjacent.portion of therubber mnunting strip a. Preferably, the: tongue. t! iscomparatively thin in order that it: may be readily in.- serted intoplace. The tongue is inclined with respect. to the side pieces. I3, I14and. I5 01 the body It at the same angle that the windshield w isinclined. with respect to. the vertical; in order that when it is its:operative position it serves to hold the body t9: in a substantiallyvertical position wherein it is positioned forwards. of. thelowerportion of the windshield and thus permitsthe coinsto bereadilyinserted into and removed from the slideways 2-8 andvZI... Therear surface of the. tongue I I is flat in order that it fits flatlyagainst the outer surface. of the lower marginal portion of'thewindshield; Across its central portion the depending. mounting tongue His provided with a plurality of spaced apart forwardly and upwardlyextending teeth 2 4. When the tongue is. inserted into place these teethbecome: so embedded in the adjacent portion of the: mounting strip 3 asto preclude accidental upward displacement of the holder as a whole. Thefront side corners of the tongue are beveled as at 25 inord'er tofacilitate insertionof the tongue between the windshield and theadjacent portion of the strip. s and also. to prevent such dis--tortion. of said. adjacent portion of the mounting strip as to precludeit from servingas a waterproof sealing medium between the' windshieldand the metallic framej- When it is desired to mount the holder in placethe tongue I I is placed flatly against the frontsu-rface of thewindshield w and is then; slid downwards until it fits between the lowermarginal portion of the windshield and the adjacent portion of therubber mounting strip s. As soon as the tongue is slid downwards to itsfullest extent the forwardly and outwardly extending teeth 24 becomeembedded in said adjacent portion of the mounting strip and thus firmlyanchor the tongue in place.

The holder will be brought into play when the automobile a is parked fortoo long a time next to a parking meter. In the event that the operatorof the automobile fails to return within the prescribed time for whichthe parking meter has been set by previous insertion of a coin and theexpiry of parking time is noted by a police or peace officer, the latterinstead of arresting the operator for parking too long will remove acoin from the holder and insert it into the parking meter to the endthat the automobile operator will have additional parking time and,hence, not be subject to arrest and payment of a fine for overparking.By mounting the holder in front of the windshield of the automobile theholder will be so prominently displayed that it will be readily noticedby the officer who will of his own volition remove a coin and insert itin the parking meter and thus save the automobile operator from arrestfor parking too long. The holder may be located at any desired positionalong the bottom marginal portion of the automobile windshield w. It ispreferably, however, located near the right hand end of the windshieldin order that it will be readily visible.

The herein described coin holder effectively and efficiently fulfillsits intended purpose and is characterized by simplicity of constructionand design and cheapness of manufacture. It is capable of being readilyinserted into its operative position and is further characterized by thefact that by having the depending anchoring tongue ii disposed at anangle with respect to the side pieces l3, l4 and I5 of the body, thebody is located forwards of the windshield and hence the coins in theslideways 20 and 2| may be grasped at both the front and the back inconnection with removal.

Whereas the holder has been described as a medium for holding coins foruse in parking meters, it is to be understood that it may be used tohold coins for other purposes such, for example, as toll bridges andtunnels. It is also to be understood that the invention is not to berestricted to the details set forth since these may be modified withinthe scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what We claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a coin holder adapted for use on anautomobile of the type that has an upwardly and rearwardly inclinedwindshield with a resilient mounting strip around its marginal portions,and comprising an upstanding rigid body provided with an open topslideway for storing coins, and a single substantially fiat rigid tongueconnected to, and depending from, the bottom portion of the body,positioned entirely beneath said bottom portion of the body, providedwith beveled side margins, shaped and designed to fit between the outersurface of the lower marginal portion of the Windshield and the adjacentportion of the mounting strip and hold the body in an exposed positionin front of the windshield, and disposed at such an obtuse angle withrespect to the body that when in place it serves to hold said body in asubstantially vertical position away from the windshield.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a one-piece coin holder adapted foruse on an automobile of the type that has an upwardly and rearwardlyinclined windshield with a resilient mounting strip around its marginalportion, and comprising a horizontally elongated upstanding rigid bodyprovided with a plurality of side by side open top and sided slidewaysfor releasably and slidably retaining coins of different denominations,and a single, downwardly tapered substantially flat rigid tongue formedintegrally with, and depending from, the bottom portion of the body,positioned entirely beneath said bottom portion of the body, providedwith beveled side margins, shaped and designed so as to fit between theouter surface of the lower marginal portion of the windshield and theadjacent portion of the mounting strip and hold the body in an exposedposition in front of the windshield, embodying a plurality of laterallyspaced integral forwardly and upwardly inclined teeth for embedment insaid adjacent portion of the mounting strip, and disposed at such anobtuse angle with respect to the body that when in place it serves tohold said body in a substantially vertical position away from thewindshield.

DOAN WADE. HENRY DAI-IL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date D. 136,425 Behrman Oct. 5, 19432,148,848 Wiley Feb. 28, 1939 2,497,365 McMurtry Feb. 14, 1950

